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OK guy's question for ya . My last trail camera finally bit the dust . For trail camera's it seems to not always matter how much you spend , you can still get junk . So what's good . Can't go by what ya see on TV . So what's good for the money ? Do they all take AA's now day's?
I am sick and tired of the customer non-service department of a lot of camera companies. I won't name any names but I will tell you that all my new cameras will be Covert. Until they show me otherwise.
They use AA's and the warranties are what I would expect they should be.
6 week turn around to repair/replace cameras is unacceptable in today's world.
Some people rag on Wildgame but I have been using them for years with decent success. I bought all mine from Menards on sale toward the end of season for $50 - $60. I do not believe in hanging a $100 bill or more on a tree waiting for someone to take when $60 will do. Amazon has them at decent prices too. I usually get my SD cards there too.
The latest ones I bought are 8meg, I thought that meant settings up to 8 meg but I have not found a way to set them lower. Not a big deal but don't really need the 8 meg quality.
Bushnell for me. Reasonable price, awesome battery life, better than average pics, solid customer service.
I have been very happy with my Stealth Cam's. The G42NG has been great!!!
I also have 4 of the G42NG--I will say that their daytime pics are excellent and will take an action shot very well. Battery life is also excellent.
Cons--marginal trigger speed and night pics are not good. But to be expected since they don't flash and are no glow. Don't think I have one good night pic so that blows. There just is no detail but you can get an idea of what's there.
Overall I'm happy with them
I have bought some of the Menards specials as Jeff has mentioned. They work good for the price. I even have one for security use at my cabin.
My go to camera now is the Browning Strike Force (about $129.00) 10 mega pixel, only 6 AA batteries, and is a very compact camera. Cabelas had a sale recently on these for $89.99. It was a Saturday only sale so I was unable to pick up additional cams. They have a couple different cams very similar to the Strike Force you could research.
I have gotten good use out of the Moultrie 880 series for the last 4 years or so. The price on those are similar to Browning. But the Brownings are better in my opinion.
Browning cameras are top notch! I've been one of the guys that have had bad luck with cameras. Browning hasn't let me down yet. I sincerely back them up when it comes to trail cameras.
In the past I built my own but now I use Moultrie with great success. Sometimes the night shots are a bit blurry but still get many good shots, great trigger speed. Good customer service. Never had to send one in for repairs though. They walked me through some issues over the phone.
I look for them on sale to save some money. I use the security code feature so if they are stolen the thief cannot use them.
I have not used Covert but have given some thought to buying one since I have heard good things about them.
Not sure if this is true or not but I was told by a rep from one of the camera companies that SD cards should not be used among different brands of cameras. Said each mfg's software copies certain files to the card that may interfere with that of another's, thus giving poor or no performance. Also said that simply erasing the files was not satisfactory and that if I wanted to use a card between different brands, it should be completely reformatted before using.
Using different brands of cameras, I wonder if this might be causing me to think that none of them are very good?
CaptMike, that could be true.
When deleting pictures from an SD card the file leaves some data on the card. Use it enough and the card can get filled up or corrupted. I try to reformat instead of deleting. Reformatting cleans the cards.
I can't imagine any reason why a camera would need to put anything on your sd card, especially not where you don't see it as a file on the card. It would really make it difficult to keep the correct card in the correct camera if you had mixed brand cameras. Anything a camera needs to remember, for example your camera settings, would/should be in memory inside the camera.
Cameras write hidden files that you don't see as visible files and they stay on the card until reformatted. I do not think though that different camera brands write proprietary data.
I have no idea. As soon as I told him I used multiple brands, that was the first thing he told me.
Wildgame is the only one I'm aware of that prevents a card used in their camera to be used in another brand. I read it several times by other people, and saw it first hand myself.
Last year I got 4 Stealth Cam G30s on sale , like $85 ea. one would not take night pictures . Returned it for another and am happy. Added 4 like keyed cable locks. Like the battery tray , long battery life. Nice having everything the same.
I like Moultrie 880's but am also having good luck with Stealth Cam G42NG. I have two Bushnells but they are problematic. The first one I bought was replaced under warranty 3 times. The second one was a gift. Sometimes one will just drain a good set of batteries and quit working. Leave it on the bench a week, and it works. I suspect moisture but not sure. I figure when it completely dies I will but a new G42NG. Oh, I know it is gimmicky but I like the sound features on my video. My hunting land is 3hrs away so I like hearing as well as seeing whats going on.
Bill
I own a couple Reconyx and believe that they are still at the top, however I wouldn't pay full price for one. -The newer Brownings are unreal for the retail price and haven't been battery hogs either.
Check out trailcampro.com
They give unbiased technical reviews of nearly all brands.
More importantly, their prices are great and they give 2 year extended warranties. So you would not have to worry about the vendor warranties.
(no ties. Just very satisfied customer)
Lost another 2 to failure this week. I will send in the camera's after bear season. (I won't name names) The turn around on them is 6 weeks and I can't live with that. I need to have them working in the woods 24x7. Called and got 2 Covert MP8's shipped express mail and they were put out today.
2 year warranties are great, but what is the turn around time on the warranty repair?
I am sure that I could live with inexpensive cameras, but in order to be fair take 2 different brands of cameras and put them in the same tree and see for yourself what the difference is.
The sad thing is my favorite cameras are 8 years old, still use the same 1 & 2 Gig cards, take great video and still pictures. Too bad they don't make them that way any more.
I see no reason for 8 an 12 MP camera's. The pictures are too grainy and they are slow.
I have been thinking of trying the Cableas brand 12mp camera that sells for $120 and has a life time warranty. Have not heard of any feedback on that camera though.
my 2 cents worth...it would depend on the likelihood of it getting stolen - I realize they're not safe anywhere but private vs public 'should' minimize chances - w/that said if chances are they'll be in contact w/human pressure and/or bear (as mine are) I go w/the more inexpensive - I actually just bought a couple Wildgame Innovation Terra6 for under $44 (Walmart) and they do everything I want - I'm not out to make life size posters so mega megapixel is of no interest to me, I just want to know what's there and when and have a decent picture
Madangler made a good point. Also check out chasingame.com for camera reviews. He was down for a while but getting back into reviews now.
No real need to go to high MP since the lens are plastic not high grade like DSLR lens. But it isn't the MP that makes them grainy, it is the camera itself. If it is set at high ISO (done by MFG.) that makes them grainy.
Cheaper cams tend to miss animals by slow sensor reaction or just plain not triggering.
I do not need super clear images for enlarging either but want at minimum enough detail to see antler points.
Covert for me also. Have a couple Stealth's and the trigger speed is horrible. Went and got the updated software for them on line and one is a little better the other still bad.
Mine are out almost 24/7/365 so I do not expect them to last for 10 years but at least 3.
If you are looking for quality night pictures, I would avoid the black flash cameras. They don't seem to give you good quality pictures past 20' of so. use a red glow camera and elevate it 6' or more off of the ground. I have used the Browning cameras the past few years, but I'm thinking of going back to Moultrie. Check out trailcamppro.com for some pretty good info.